Washington, D.C., April 2, 2025 – On Monday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee granted a motion for summary judgment in McKee Foods Corporation v. BFP, Inc. The court agreed with McKee Foods that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act preempts key provisions of Tennessee’s law requiring that employers include “any willing pharmacy” in the networks maintained by the pharmacy benefit plans employers sponsor for workers and their families. Earlier this year, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) filed a “friend of the court” brief supporting McKee Foods’ motion for summary judgment. The statement below can be attributed to Tom Christina, Executive Director of the ERIC Legal Center.
“Sometimes, a well-reasoned explanation of the law is exactly what is needed for the court to see that the facts are clear and convincing. In the case of McKee Foods, the court easily concluded that Tennessee’s law interferes with employers’ ability to design and administer plans that reflect the needs of their workforce. The preemption provision that Congress included in ERISA gave the court the mechanism necessary to protect employers and employees from the harm created by the “any willing pharmacy” provision of this law. We are grateful the court recognized that employers are best equipped to design benefit plans – and construct the provider and pharmacy networks – that serve the needs of their workforce. ERIC remains committed to working with state policymakers to reduce prescription drug costs and to do so in ways that complement, rather than conflict with federal law.”
ERIC is a national advocacy organization exclusively representing the largest employers in the United States in their capacity as sponsors of employee benefit plans for their nationwide workforces. With member companies that are leaders in every economic sector, ERIC is the voice of large employer plan sponsors on federal, state, and local public policies impacting their ability to sponsor benefit plans. ERIC member companies offer benefits to tens of millions of employees and their families, located in every state and city across the country.
The decision can be found here.